The side event seeks to explore the issues women and girls face whenever they are victims of violence, especially in the current context of heightened food crisis in Syria and to delve into the needs and gaps when it comes to mechanisms to combat VAWG.

The side event “Ensuring mechanisms to combat violence against women and girls during the early recovery phase” seeks to delve into mechanisms addressing and combating all forms of VAWG, especially led by women and feminist organizations, in the specific context of early recovery in Syria. It will unfold the main issues and gaps in addressing VAWG in the current context of food insecurity while highlighting concrete recommendations to improve the range and quality of services for victims of VAWG.

This side event will contribute to the Brussels VIII Conference on Supporting the future of Syria and the Region by providing valuable insights and recommendations on addressing and combating all forms of VAWG in the early recovery processes while providing concrete solutions to improve the range and quality of services for women and girls victims of violence, derived from the work of feminist activists and women’s rights defenders with diverse backgrounds across Syria. It also aims to guide donors and stakeholders in ensuring that tackling VAWG is a top priority in the mobilisation of the international community’s support to the Syrian people as well as in the UN-led efforts for a negotiated political solution to the conflict.

The side event will be held in both in person and online, with interpretation in Arabic and English.

Syria Gender Advocacy Group (GAG) was formed during the Consultative Process on building a Common Agenda for combating VAWG as a main barrier to women´s participation (2020-2021). It aims to raise awareness and mobilise local communities as well as to advocate on local, national and international levels, including the donor community, on the need to combat VAWG as a key to enabling women’s participation in peace building, and in all Syria’s political, economic and social processes.

EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI) is a policy platform that provides expertise in the field of gender equality as inseparable from democracy building and citizenship, and advocates for political solutions to all conflicts, and for the right of people to self-determination. EFI’s headquarter is in Paris, with offices is in Amman, Beirut, and Erbil (http://www.efi-ife.org/).